The Pursuit of Movement (Part 1 – Inspiration)

A few weeks ago, I came across a very inspiring video. Like most good things that happen to me, it sought me out instead of being found. Watching this video made me reassess everything I know about my physical sense of self: my fitness, body awareness, and especially my mobility.

For those who don’t know, I recently turned 31 years old. Objectively speaking that is a pretty old age by athletic standards. Most professional athletes in mainstream sports peak in their 20s and become “savvy veterans” after entering their 30s. From that point on, performance becomes more reliant on technique than athleticism. New skills learned are usually cognitive based or the refining of an existing technique. “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” they say.

I’ve felt resigned to buy into that line of conventional wisdom. As someone who used to break dance, the movements, energy, and flexibility don’t come as easily (or painlessly) as they did before in my teens. The idea of learning new techniques has been a long discarded afterthought as I’ve never even really mastered some basic ones. And I’m not getting any “stronger” either. The prime meathead days of my 20s where I used to spend countless hours at the gym are long past. Those weights feel a bit (who am I kidding, a lot) heavier now.

So what’s left for me in my older, slower, weaker age? Endurance sports? Yoga? Tai Chi? What can I do that’s more “suitable” for my body? (Not knocking any of those 3 disciplines. They are hard as shit and I suck at them.)

Holy shit. I’ve never really committed to knowing my body. I’ve thrown myself at movement after movement but never took the time to form a proper relationship with my body. How I move, how I transition, how I balance, how I align. I’ve done rep after rep, set after set, but never really addressed the true burning question:

“What are we training for? It never arrives. We’re always preparing and training… we want to do it! We want to move!”